The Spanish Parliament has rejected a motion to ban the burqa and niqab in public places. The motion was presented by the right-wing party (Partido Popular), with the support of CIU (Convergencia i Unió), a Catalan, right-wing, nationalist party.
This article in Libération charts Nicolas Sarkozy’s discourse on Arabic language instruction in France. The author suggests that while he has been extremely involved in the structuring of Islam in France and has presented himself as open to relationships with Mediterranean nations, there has been little advancement on his earlier promises related to Arabic instruction…
